But IHS funding doesn't go very far. This year, NARA received $2.6 million, which comes to just $571 per patient.

"We know the need is bigger than we can meet," Jackie Mercer, NARA's chief executive officer, told the Oregonian.

According to the Urban Indian Health Institute, 21 percent of Native Americans in metro Porland suffer from asthma, compared to 9 percent of general population. Some 31 percent are obese, compared to 24 percent of the general population.